10 Tips for First-Time Lake Home Buyers
- Be picky, but don’t be unrealistic. There is no perfect home.
- Do your
homework before you start looking. Decide specifically what features you
want in a home and which are most important to you.
- Get your finances in order.
Review your credit report and be sure you have enough money to cover your
downpayment and your closing costs.
- Don’t wait to get a loan. Talk to
a lender and get prequalified for a mortgage before you start looking.
- Don’t
ask too many people for opinions. It will drive you crazy. Select one or
two people to turn to if you feel you need a second opinion.
- Decide when you
could move. When is your lease up? Are you allowed to sublet? How tight is
the rental market in your area?
- Think long-term. Are you looking for a starter
house with the idea of moving up in a few years or do you hope to stay in
this home longer? This
decision
may dictate what type of home you’ll buy as well as the type of mortgage
terms that suit you best.
- Don’t let yourself be “house poor”.
If you max yourself out to buy the biggest home you can afford, you’ll
have no money left for maintenance or decoration or to save money for other
financial goals.
- Don’t be naïve. Insist on a home inspection and,
if possible, get a warranty from the seller to cover defects within one year.
- Get
help. Consider hiring a REALTOR® as a buyer’s representative.
Unlike a listing agent, whose first duty is to the seller, a buyer’s
representative is working only for you. And often, buyer’s reps are
paid out of the seller’s commission payment.
Go back to buying lake property
Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine
Online by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.
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